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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSHolden Caulfield is a sixteen-year-old from New York City who has just been expelled from Pencey Prep, his fourth school in a row. Instead of waiting around until Christmas break officially starts, he leaves campus on his own in the middle of the night and heads to New York, planning to stay in a cheap hotel and avoid his parents until they have time to get used to the news. Restless, cynical, and convinced that most of the adult world is phony, Holden wanders the city over two days, meeting strangers, getting into trouble, and trying to figure out what, if anything, he actually wants from life.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Catcher in the Rye
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about The Catcher in the Rye. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a teenager manage the fencing team but leave all the foils on the subway?
✓ Answer
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Holden was supposed to manage his prep school's fencing team for a meet with McBurney School, but he left all the equipment on the subway because he kept getting up to check the map. The team ostracized him on the train ride back, which sets the tone for his alienation from the school.
- First half
In what book does the narrator trick a tourist by claiming Gary Cooper just walked out?
✓ Answer
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
While dancing with Marty, Holden tells her that Gary Cooper just left the floor, and she relays the lie to her friends, who all act crushed they missed him. Holden feels a pang of regret afterward, noting that some people you shouldn't kid even if they deserve it.
- First half
In what book does a boy give two nuns ten dollars for their beat-up straw basket?
✓ Answer
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
At a small sandwich bar near Grand Central, Holden meets two nuns headed to teach uptown and gives them ten dollars for their collection basket. The encounter, with their plain breakfast of toast and coffee, becomes one of the few honest, generous moments in his New York day.
- Second half
In what book does the narrator nostalgically describe an Eskimo and a war canoe inside a museum?
✓ Answer
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
These memories of the Museum of Natural History symbolize Holden's wish that childhood could be frozen. The exhibits never change, but the visitor always does.
- Second half
In what book does the narrator insist Jesus would prefer the kettle drummer to a stage full of angels?
✓ Answer
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
After the Radio City Christmas show, Holden dismisses the crucifix-carrying angels as phony. He remembers watching the drummer with Allie since age eight.
- Near the end
In what book does a little girl invent the middle name Weatherfield for her schoolbooks and notebooks?
✓ Answer
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Phoebe's real middle name is Josephine. Holden finds the invented name on her arithmetic book and all through her notebooks, since she picks a new middle name often.
